Todo lo que somos y todo lo que nos rodea proviene de un mismo lugar y un mismo momento: el Big Bang. La cosmología contemporánea, esa disciplina en que la astronomía convive con la física cuántica y la relatividad general para estudiar el origen y la evolución temprana del universo, explica el surgimiento y la distribución de los cuerpos celestes y los elementos químicos. George Smoot y Keay Davidson presentan en este libro un recuento de...

El Universo se nos ha hecho familiar. En los medios de comunicación son frecuentes las noticias sobre un nuevo cometa, unas imágenes de Marte o un nuevo agujero negro. En las últimas décadas el progreso se ha multiplicado con el estudio de las emisiones no visibles, las sondas interplanetarias o los telescopios espaciales. Se han descubierto miles de planetas orbitando otros soles, se ha medido que la expansión del Universo es acelerada por algo...

One of the founders of modern quark theory traverses the eons to bring readers within the first millisecond of the Big Bang. Trefil employs minimal mathematics in this compelling and lucid narrative, which not only offers a remarkable view of the universe's beginnings, but also speculates about its end. 1983 edition.

"Michio Kaku, renowned theoretical physicist and author of Hyperspace and The Future of Humanity, tells the story of the greatest quest in science. When Newton discovered the laws of motion and gravity, he unified the rules of heaven and earth. From then on, physicists have been discovering new forces and incorporating them into ever-greater theories. But the major breakthroughs of the 20th century--relativity and quantum mechanics--are incompatible,...

In this potent book, three eminent scientists—an astrophysicist, an organic chemist, and an anthropologist—ponder and discuss some of the basic questions that have obsessed humankind through the ages, and offer thoughtful, enlightening answers in terms the layperson can easily understand. Until now, most of these questions were addressed by religion and philosophy. But science has reached a point where it, too, can voice an opinion. Beginning...

Max Tegmark leads us on an astonishing journey through past, present, and future, and through the physics, astronomy and mathematics that are the foundation of his work, most particularly his hypothesis that our physical reality is a mathematical structure and his theory of the ultimate multiverse. In a dazzling combination of both popular and ground-breaking science, he not only helps us grasp his often mind-boggling theories (his website gives a...

"An exploration of some of the deepest questions about our place in the universe"--

This fascinating book provides an accessible and up-to-date overview of modern cosmology. In particular, the book discusses the formation of the Cosmic Microwave Background and the evolution of large-scale structures in the universe, the distribution of galaxies and clusters of galaxies on very large distance scales. Following a brief introduction, the authors describe the scientific method—how science is done. They then discuss observational cosmology,...